9Synonyms found for microbe

Word Origin & History

microbe popular name for a bacterium, 1868, from Fr. microbe, "badly coined ... by Sédillot" [Weekley] from Gk. mikros "small" + bios "life" (see bio-). Incorrect use of bios; in Gk. the word would mean lit. "short-lived."

Example Sentences for microbes

Consider the use of antibiotics to combat disease-causing microbes.

The size of a sesame seed, the third gut contains a dense mush of symbiotic microbes.

When human beings and domesticated animals live close together, they trade microbes with abandon.

Today ticks still rule over immense tracts of the terrestrial globe, and microbes rule absolutely.

Small fish consume the microbes, large fish consume the small fish, and eventually the toxin lands in kitchens.

Cleaning showerheads with bleach will not do since the microbes will simply return with a fresh flow of water.

Importantly, the genomes of microbes can and do evolve and be shaped by how well they navigate their hosts.

Animals, plants and microbes can now migrate across the planet to new homes with unprecedented ease.

At the moment, the microbes which make biofuels almost all do so through fermentation.